15 Ways To Evaluate Headhunters And Recruiters

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

When I began to work as a recruiter many years ago, I knew very little. I looked for square pegs for square holes and conducted myself as little more than a basic screener. I would ask questions that reflected a mental checklist — Have you done this? Have you done that? How did you go about doing this? How did you go about doing that?

With time, effort, and a deep drive to work and be world-class at my profession, I slowed down and asked a better class of questions to get to know a person and what made them effective at what they did at work, or an institutional customer and how they evaluated people for the role they were trying to fill. Slowing down made me less transactional, more careful, and more caring about my work.

Here are a few things to notice as you speak with a headhunter that will allow you to decide whether you should trust their recommendations.

1. Top headhunters exhibit behaviors that are consistent with the qualities they look for in the people they represent. If you pay attention, you’ll notice they SEEM honest when they ask for your help with finding someone for a…